Established in the late 1800's and early 1900's Land known as the Sacred Heart of Mary, this small Catholic community consisted of fifteen to eighteen families gathering in homes and celebrating Mass led by Monsignor O'Farrell, Pastor of Saint Joseph in Petersburg and occasionally by a Czech speaking priest from St. Wenceslaus parish in Baltimore.

The dream of having their own church became a reality in 1906 when Fr. Jan Konicek, the pastor of the Czech communities in Prince George, Dinwiddie and Chesterfield Counties received permission from the Diocese to build. By using donated materials, a modest wooden church was erected on three acres of land provided by the Piecek and Blaha families. This new church was named Saint John Nepomucene and was dedicated on May 16, 1907.

Saint John was the sister parish of Sacred Heart Church in New Bohemia and was served by resident Pastors for the Czech communities in the Petersburg area, later to include St. Ann in Chesterfield. The church also has a cemetery, believed to have been established in 1910, and remains to this day.

In 1931, under the pastorate of Fr. Leopold Stefl, the wooden church was replaced with a larger, brick structure, built by parishioners, with a seating capacity of 130. It stands today as it was built in 1931. Since part of the ethnic tradition of the Czech parishioners includes music and dancing, a social hall was built next to the church. In the Fall, when the hall was not used for social events, the local farmers were allowed to use it for the temporary storage of their peanut crop before it was sold and thus this first hall became known as “Peanut Hall”. In 1948, plans for a new, larger hall began. Completed in 1954, the building was of sturdy cinder block construction, with kitchen, a raised stage, and an expansive social hall. The name, “Peanut Hall” carried over to this building, with lively square dancing, the sounds of polka and big band music resounding on Saturday nights. Large crowds were drawn from near and far. With the funds raised from these public dances, the building debts were quickly paid off, and the building was further redesigned to establish classrooms for religious education.

In May 1977, after 70 years without a resident pastor of its own, Saint John was designated a parish of the Diocese by Bishop Walter F. Sullivan, the Eleventh Bishop of Richmond. In December 1978, the hall and land on which it stood was purchased by Chaparral Steel, and the proceeds were used for the construction of the modern brick parish hall that is in use today.

In August 2014, we joined Church of the Sacred Heart in Prince George County, and Saint James, the Greater in Hopewell, and became part of the Catholic Cluster Parishes sharing a pastor and staff.